Vegan Bites: Gingery Rice Balls

'Tang Yuan' literally translates to 'sweet round'. I had a British colleague in Shanghai who was nicknamed Tang Yuan due to his love of this dessert.
Usually the rice orbs are filled with sweet mung or black sesame paste. However, they taste just as good plain, with a bit of gingery syrup.
We found a recipe, courtesy of Vegetarian Viet Nam that are an excellent prep for the coming Lunar New Year (and nice in winter to have those warm spices!)

Tang Yuan

~1c glutinous rice flour

~1/4c lukewarm water

Make a smooth, non-sticky dough, adding more flour or water as needed.

Pinch off small bits to roll into balls.

Drop balls into boiling water. Once they float, add another two minutes cooking time before spooning into syrup.

~1c water

~1/2c maple syrup

~slices of ginger

~star anise

Boil syrup. Bring to simmer.

Soak cooked balls overnight for stronger flavouring.